


For the Longest Time

by infernalandmortal



Series: Little Beast [2]
Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-11
Updated: 2018-07-28
Packaged: 2019-06-08 22:56:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,432
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15253881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/infernalandmortal/pseuds/infernalandmortal
Summary: This is just a collection of one-shots from the Little Beast verse because everyone seems to like this little town and our kids.Mainly Memori, but some other shenanigans too.Current chapter: "I came home to a Nerf gun on the front porch and a note that says ‘Here is your weapon. I have one too. Good luck. xo’ AU"Title fromLittle Beastby Richard Siken.





	1. Chapter 1

The sun is already setting as Emori climbs the rickety old porch steps after a long day at her second job - moving boxes at a warehouse for a paycheck just large enough to pay off her medical bills. Her whole body aches for her bed and her husband, but it seems like her husband has other ideas.

There’s a Nerf gun on the front porch, probably taken from Raven’s house - because that’s the kind of shit she’s into, apparently - and a note in John’s distinctive handwriting:  _Here’s your weapon. I have one too. May the best (so, me) win. -J_

She wants to still be sulky and exhausted, but she can’t keep the smile from her face as she picks up the toy and opens the door.

“Who’s that?” she hears John whisper to their daughter from behind the kitchen door. She’s only two months old, and Emori knows she should be asleep right now, but her heart warms nonetheless at her squeals of delight. “Is that Mom? Let’s go get her.”

“You’re not good at being quiet, John,” she says in her low, terrible voice that he loves. “Why don’t you come out and make this easy on yourself?”

“Excuse me,” he says, offended. “We’re a  _team_ , and we’re not going down without a fight.”

He jumps from behind the door, flailing into the tiny living room, their daughter gurgling and squealing from her secure position strapped to his chest. He tries to get off a shot in her general direction, but she ducks behind the ancient armchair Raven salvaged from Bellamy’s apartment when he was throwing out a lot of his mother’s old furniture.

“Damn!” he grumbles.

“Don’t swear!” she calls, then tags him twice in the leg when he’s fiddling with the gun.

Jova flails her arms in her mother’s direction. John looks down at her. “Traitor,” he grumbles.

“I did carry her,” Emori notes, yelping when John nails her in the arm.

“I go down on you,” he counters, nailing her in the leg. “Doesn’t that get me points?”

Emori scoffs, creeping around the chair and behind the couch to tag him twice in the back. “You wish.”

“So you want me to stop?” he asks, tiptoeing towards the couch, probably hoping that his talk will distract her. She smirks.  _Men._

She sneaks up behind him and presses the toy gun to the small of his back. “Never,” she murmurs in his ear, kissing the side of his neck. “Who’s the best now, John.”

John turns his gun on her over his shoulder. “That depends on your definition,” he says. She can  _hear_ the smirk in his voice.

She’s about to duck when Jova starts to fuss. John coos to her, kissing the top of her head before working at the straps that hold her to his torso.

“It’s time for bed,” Emori tells both her husband and daughter, holding Jova up while John tosses the carrier aside. “Come on, you.”

“I’ve got it,” John says, reaching for Jova. “You should get ready for bed. You had a long night.”

Just like that, the pain in her back and shoulders is back. She sighs in irritation as she pads down the hall to the bathroom. Her hasty shower does nothing for her aching muscles, but crawling into bed with John and resting her head on his shoulder does offer some relief.

“Here,” he grunts, sitting up. “Roll over.”

She does as he asks, rolling onto her stomach, then lets out another sigh - this one, in relief - when he straddles her back and begins to knead at the knots in her shoulders. “Mm, that feels good,” she murmurs when he presses his thumbs into the spaces beneath her shoulder blades. 

“I wish you’d tell me when you’re in pain,” he says.

“It’s just for a little while,” she says. “Just until the bills are paid off.” Emori lifts her head to look at the picture frame on her nightstand. “She’s worth it, though.”

“You’re worth something too,” John says, but doesn’t argue further.

“Thanks for the game,” she mutters, feeling herself drift closer and closer to sleep. “It was nice.”

John slides off of her and tugs on her shoulder until she’s curled against him, spooning. “Just wanted to keep the romance alive.”

Her heart floods with warmth when he nuzzles into her neck and shoulder, planting soft kisses against the skin still warm from his hands. “I love you, John,” she whispers.

His hand smoothes over her side, down to hold her hand. His wedding band is cool against her skin. “I love you too, Mori. So much.”


	2. Ring Shopping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Murphy goes shopping for an engagement ring. Of course, Raven helps.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to [Debate](http://archiveofourown.org/users/debate) for the prompt :)

When Raven gets a text from Murphy instructing her to meet him at the diner, her heart nearly jumps out of her chest, mostly because she already knows what this is about.

“You can’t be sure!” Monty shouts from the lab’s tiny kitchen, the only spot in the entire building that food can safely be consumed. “Maybe it’s about something else.”

“It’s not,” Raven says, positively giddy. “I know it! It’s finally time!”

Monty rolls his eyes affectionately, throwing a roll of paper towels at her as she hustles out the door.

When she makes it to the diner, she’s delighted to see both Murphy’s car and Zeke’s shitty bike parked near the front door. Good. She can kill two birds with one stone: disconcert the new mechanic in town and screw with her best friend.

When the little bell over the door rings, Raven sees Zeke’s eyes widen and his cheeks turn a little pink.  _ Yes. Good. _

“Morning, Raven,” Octavia says from the corner booth, waving. “Who are you terrorizing today?”

“Sometimes I come here for food, you know,” Raven replies.

“Today is not one of those days, I assume,” Zeke says. “You wear a distinct expression when you’re hungry, and you don’t have that face on today.”

Raven’s original plan to screw with Zeke flies out the window in the face of his strangely-perceptive observation. She blinks at him for a couple minutes, then turns to the counter.

“You two are disgusting,” she informs Murphy as he leans over to peck Emori on the lips. “People eat here.”

Murphy rolls his eyes. Emori gives Raven the middle finger.

“You’re going to the lab, right?” Raven asks her newest employee. When Emori nods, Raven gives her a thumbs-up. “Just a note, Monty’s up to his no-explosives-at-the-desks bullshit again, so whatever you do, don’t open my bottom drawer.”

“Noted.” Emori gives Murphy a little wave goodbye. Raven starts snickering as Murphy watches her walk away.

“You’re shameless, J,” she tells him, hopping up on a counter stool.

He shrugs. “She’s cute. Sue me.”

“ _ Cute _ ,” Raven mocks. “What is this, high school?”

“Are you going to mock me, or help me?”

“Preferably, both,” she says, wiggling her eyebrows. “Now, are you going to ask me what I think you’re going to ask me?”

“I want to propose to-” Murphy’s whisper is cut off by a loud yelp of joy from Raven. “Damn, would you let me finish?”

“I knew it!” Raven crows. “I knew it!”

“Yeah, yeah, okay, shut up,” Murphy grumbles. “Listen-”

“You’re finally proposing!” Raven squeals, then sobers. “Okay. I’m ready. Talk.”

Murphy sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “I need help finding a ring.” When Raven’s grin widens, he points at her. “Chill, Reyes. I want something small, something that fits her.”

Raven’s grin fades only slightly as the gravity of the situation settles over her. “Got it,” she nods. “But, J, she doesn’t exactly have a left ring finger.”

Murphy’s brow furrows. “I know. And I don’t want to make her feel bad about her hand. She’s gotten way better about it and I don’t want to fuck that up.”

Raven wishes that Finn would have taught her some metalworking. That might have come in handy right about now. “You could get one and put it on a chain,” she suggests. “She could wear it around her neck instead of on her hand.”

“Would you do that?” Murphy asks, and Raven has an epiphany that makes her feel way better about the whole situation.

“Yeah, actually. She’d have to take a ring off at the lab, anyway. This way, she doesn’t have to.”

The relief in Murphy’s eyes is palpable. “Okay.” He sighs. “You’re still helping me pick one, you know.”

Raven nearly hops in her seat with excitement. “Obviously. You can’t get rid of me that easy.”

* * *

“Where does Emori think you are, anyway?” Raven asks Murphy as they cruise out of town in her newly-rebuilt SUV, the crisp fall air flowing in through the open windows.

“She knows I’m going out with you,” he says, reaching for his phone and thumbing through his camera roll. “She didn’t ask; she figures it’s just best friend stuff.”

“Nah,” Raven grins. “It’s best  _ man  _ stuff.” She turns to look at him. “I am your best man, right?”

“Eyes on the road!” Murphy yelps. Once Raven turns away, he answers, “Yeah, obviously. Who else would it be if she says yes?”

“ _ If _ ?” Mercifully, she doesn’t look away from the highway again, but Murphy can see the incredulous expression written all over her face. “You’re an idiot, J.” She says it with love. “Of course she’ll say yes. You’ve been dating and living together for  _ years _ .”

“I know,” Murphy says, anxiety boiling in his stomach. He has a suspicion that emotion would come to make a home there over the next couple months. “I just… What if she doesn’t want commitment?”

“Oh, she does.” Raven nods sagely. “I’m her friend, too, you know.” She raises a finger. “And don’t ask me to be a double agent. No fricking way.”

Murphy laughs. “Wasn’t going to.”

“Seriously, though.” Raven’s voice goes soft. “She really loves you, J. She wants to spend the rest of her life with you. The ring, the wedding and everything else is just an affirmation of that.”

“Hey,” Murphy says, half-joking, “want to write my vows for me? That’s some good shit.”

Raven snorts. “Hell no. You’re doing all that yourself. I have to focus on my best man toast. After all, it is my duty to roast you to kingdom come. And I’ve got a lot of material.”

* * *

Ring shopping with Raven wasn’t nearly as horrible as Murphy anticipated. Her commentary may be sarcastic, but he’s surprised to find that she’s actually pretty good at this. She knows what Emori likes well enough, he supposes, and she has an eye for the pretty and practical that he doesn’t.

“That’s nice,” she says, pointing to a thin silver band with a rope-like pattern weaving around it. “That’d look pretty around a chain.”

“It’s too shiny,” Murphy argues.

“J. Honey.” Raven shakes her head. “It has to have a little bit of shine. So it catches the light and people see it, you know? Even Emori will want to show it off.”

“Did you find what you’re looking for?” 

Murphy looks up at the saleswoman. “Not yet. I’m trying to find an engagement ring for my girlfriend, but I want to put it on a chain since she can’t wear rings.”

The saleswoman thinks for a moment, then reaches for a small tray under the glass cases. “This is one of our engravable pieces,” she says, putting forth a small, gold band with three tiny diamonds inlaid in the center. “You could put an inscription on the inside of the band; she would be able to see it from where it hangs. It’s a little shiny, so she’d still have something to show off, like your friend said.”

Murphy turns it over in his hand, elbowing Raven in the side when she shares a conspiratorial grin with the saleswoman. He imagines it on a chain, resting against Emori’s skin, shimmering there. He imagines her playing with it while she talks, works, or thinks.

“Do you know what you’d put on the inside?” Raven asks softly.

All of a sudden, it comes to him: her words, whispered against his skin the night he fell in love with her. “Yeah. Yeah, I do.”

This was the ring. He was sure of it.

* * *

He holds the blue box in his hands on the drive home. Raven is practically vibrating with excitement next to him.

“You’re getting engaged!” she shouts for the third time. “I can’t believe it! My little J is all grown up!”

“Shut up, Raven,” he says, but he’s laughing too. He’s going to do it. He’s going to ask her to marry him.

_ Holy shit. _

“When are you going to do it?” Raven asks.

“Christmas.”

“You’re making me wait that long?!” Raven sighs dramatically. “That’s  _ months _ away.”

“Only three. Calm down.” Murphy fiddles with the box. “I want all our friends there, but I don’t want to make it a thing. Just...make sure I get her name at the annual friend group gift exchange.”

Raven nods, sagely. “Consider it done.” She grins. “It’s part of being a best man.”

Murphy groans. “What are you going to do if Emori wants you as her maid of honor?”

“You picked me first,” Raven says. “She’ll have to make do with...Bellamy, or someone.”

Murphy can’t help but cringe. Raven cackles.

* * *

“What’s got you so excited?” Emori asks him that night as they make dinner. She’s at the sink, washing celery, and he’s spooning their soup into bowls. He made it out of rice, chicken and leftover pumpkin from the diner. They’re the only two out of everyone Murphy knows that like that concoction.

“Nothing,” Murphy says, reaching over to turn up the radio. They both like this song. “Just happy.”

Emori quirks an eyebrow at him. “You? Happy? Something  _ must  _ be wrong.”

Murphy reaches for her left hand, leading her to duck under his arm in a slow twirl. “Just dance with me,” he says, spinning her again. Her feet shuffle clumsily on the tile before catching on the rhythm of the song.

“You know,” she murmurs, inching forward to rest her head on his chest. “I hope we get to live like this forever. You and me.”

Murphy kisses the top of her head and rests his chin there. “That’s the plan.”

She sighs happily. “Sure is.”

He thinks about the small box hidden inside one of his winter boots on the top shelf of his closet, that little thing that holds a small gold ring with six words printed in small script.

_ Thank you for saving my life. _

He can’t wait to give it to her.


End file.
